Shoe-last.



s. E. HOOPER.

SHOE LAST.

APPLICATION FILED JULY :1. I-9l6.

1,280,2Qfi Patented Oct. 1, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. E. HOOPER.

SHOE LAST.

'APPLICATION ElLED .lULY H. I916.

SHEET 2.

Patented. 0017. 1

2 S H E E T 8- u /{Mama nu: arm/a5 FEYERS coqruomumm wisnmumu, n. c.

JOHN E. HOOPER, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

SHOE-LAST.

menses.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 1, 1918.

Application filed uly 11, 1916. Serial No. 108,597.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN E. Hoornn, a

citizen of the. United States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe- Lasts; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in shoe lasts and the principal object of the invention is to provide. a last of the ordinary type provided with the usual metallic bottom plate having a tack receiving opening therein which last is so constructed that tacks driven through the opening will be held in place. Heretofore much difliculty has been experienced in keeping tacks in place when the same are driven into the last as a continuous use of the.

last will cause the wood which is exposed through the openings in the metal plate to chip and gradually become worn away so that there is little or no frictional engagement of the tack therewith and this invention has for its object to substitute a metallic means for receiving and frictionally holding the tack.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a tack holding means which may be constructed in various ways such as a closely coiled spring body which is'inserted in the last or a series of disks held in place by a spring or springs between which the tack extends.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts which will be fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of a last constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view partly in section of the last.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4: is a fragmentary detail sectional view of a portion of the last showing a modified form of nail gripping elements.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 illustrating a further modification of the structure. Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of a welt and turn last showing this improved nail holding attachment applied thereto, and

Fig. 7 is a transverse'sectional view on line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawing the numeral 1 designates the toe portion of a last of the ordinary type while the numeral 2 designates the heel portion. These portions are hinged together as at 3 and provided with the latch mechanism 4 by means of which they are held in extended position. A suitable metallic plate 5 is attached to the sole portion of the toe portion of the last by means of screws 6 while a similar metallic plate 7 is attached to the heel portion by means of the screws 8. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a plate 5 is provided with suitable openings 9 while the plate 7 is provided with an opening 10. -These openings are positioned directly over the recesses 11 formed in the toe portions 1 and 2 in which the nail receiving elements are positioned. The nail receiving element illustrated in Fig. 2 con sists of coil springs 12 which may be formed of any suitable wire, the coils of which are wound closely together as shown in the drawings so as to form gripping jaws between which the nail is secured. It will thus be seen that when anail is driven through one of the openings, the point thereof will extend into the spring and between two adjacent coils which will firmly grip the nail and hold the same against accidental movement.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 4 the body of the last is designated by the numeral 13 and provided with the cover plate 14: having an opening 15 therein. A. recess 16 is formed imme diately beneath the opening in the body and a U-shaped spring 17 is seated in the recess and has its arms 18 bent upwardly and inwardly as clearly shown in Fig. 1-. Suitable disks 19 are arranged between the arms and are adapted to be held in abutting position by means of said arms and it will be understood that the edges of these disks may be rounded or arranged in other form so that upon driving a nail into the opening 15 the point thereof will pass between two of the disks and be frictionally held in place.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 5 the same disk arrangement is provided but instead of providing the spring 17 suitable bolt springs 20 are arranged to abut the end Walls of the recess in which the device is placed and the ends of said springs bear on the disks thus forcing the said disks into close contact. The numeral 21 designates an ordinary welt and turn last Which like the last previously referred to is provided with the recesses 22 in the sole portion and the edges of said sole portion are grooved as at 23 to receive the longitudinally extending coil springs 24. In this construction it will be seen that the nails driven into the sole adjacent the edge Will be .received by the springs and any liability of the sole portion of the last to become spongy and Worn is avoided.

It will thus be seen that the nails Will be firmly clamped in position when driven into the device and the necessity of frequently renewing the last and the making of repairs thereto is avoided.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that such changes may be made in the combination and arrangement of parts as Will fall Within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is v 1. In a shoe last, a body,a metallic plate covering the sole portion of said body, said plate being provided With openingstherein and coil springs located in the body immediately beneath the openings to receive the inner ends of shoe tacks to firmly hold the same in place.

2. A shoe last having grooves in its sole portion and coil springs mounted in the Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

to form a succession of substantially parallel engaging portions embedded in said body and adapted to frictionally engage a nail or tack to detachably hold the same in its adjusted position. V

5. The combination With a shoe last or similar body of a spring member comprising a length bent upon itself to form a series of interconnected substantially parallel bights or turns embedded in the said body adapted to engage and retain a tack or nail entered between successive bights or turns thereof.

6. The combination With a shoe last or similar body of a helical spring embedded in said body adapted to engage and temporarily hold a tack or nail, inserted between successive bights or turns of said springs.

In testimonywhereof I 'aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN E. HOOPER. Witnessesr H. MCDONALD, THEO. C. SNIVELY.

Washington, I). G. 

